The Good

Toni Kroos’ stoppage time golazo
After Kroos scored a beautiful free kick to lift Germany over Sweden in their second game, things were looking up. Of course, they quickly fell. But for one fleeting moment, Germany was on top of the soccer world once again.

Ronaldo opens the World Cup in style

The (arguably) best match of the World Cup so far happened on Day 2. Powerhouses Portugal and Spain squared off in a back-and-forth thriller. In the second half, Spain pulled ahead 3-2 and controlled play. But as Spanish coach Fernando Hierro said after the game: “It’s very fortunate for whatever team has Cristiano Ronaldo.” And in the 88th minute, Ronaldo dazzled with a free kick goal to secure a hat trick for himself and a tie for Portugal.

Russia shocks the world, enters knockout stage on home soil

The lowest ranked of all countries entering the tournament, no one expected much of anything from the Russian squad at the World Cup.

The Bad

Video replay

VAR.. The Video Assistant Referee has taken centre stage at the World Cup, as every possible call has been subjected to video review.

The never-ending GOAT debate

The World Cup introduced an even hotter debate: Messi vs. Ronaldo. Of course, no one can agree. Ronaldo stated his case early with a hat trick and brought his total goals to four through the games. Messi trails with just one, but it was a crucial one in Argentina’s final match to secure a spot in the knockout stage. The pendulum will surely continue to swing.

What is going on with Diego Maradona?

​During Argentina’s crucial 2-1 win against Nigeria, Maradona — one of the best soccer players ever — wasn’t slow to show his emotions. At varying points, he was dancing with fans, taking his shirt off and flipping double birds at no one in particular.

Senegal sent home on fair play points

After three games, Senegal and Japan were tied with four points apiece in Group H. They were tied in goal differential and goals for, and tied their head-to-head matchup at two. That meant the tiebreaker to determine who moved on to the knockout stage was fair play points. And Senegal had accrued two more yellow cards than Japan, so they were eliminated. The rule was introduced in 2014 as a measure to avoid a drawing of the lots to determine a winner, which would’ve been next on the list.

Well, the 2018 Fifa World Cup is full of excitements and upsets. Many pundits are declaring it the best world cup ever. Good things to say are the rise of Croatia and Belgium as football powerhouses and the rise of young footballers like Mbappe and Pickford while Lopetegui’s sacking as Spain coach and acing plays (not always) from Neymar are some bad memories to ponder upon.

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